Doug Blease

Yeah, cheers. Quite interested in doing a bit.

I have a 660 also. What size bar and what brand of ripping chain is the best combination? Are all the mills the same? I wouldnt mind a go at that. I have recently booked an LT40 for a day next year to mill some timber I felled in the summer. Beech and Elm. I currently have no market for the planks. Bit of an experiment really. Any ideas?

Does the ripping chain leave a smooth(ish) finish? Do you need to sand/plane the planks?

cool! Would match my truck too! Maybe you could get the reindeer to drag it up here for Friday morning?

Dont get it so much these days but used to happen a lot when I was a Windsurfing Instructor. Wierd isnt it!?!

I am almost finished a degree and I am unsure as to whether to complete the Honours degree year. Or graduate with a BSc and perhaps do a cert arb course on top. I would love to keep working for myself, expanding on my tree work. But maybe I should do the honours degree and look for a job..... I have left trees before for employment, but you end up craving it.

£50 K.........says it all really. An unfortunate end to an interesting thread!

Does the RFS Cert Arb require recertification like the ISA?

Its these reasons that I was hoping we could find someone who has used it. Dispel the misconceptions perhaps?

Apparantly cedar makes excellent kindling. If you could get a lorry load of it then the fuelwood factory can do kindling too I think.

Good point. I suppose that particular machine is designed for a consistant supply of similar species of straight, evenly sized poles. But if thats what youve got then I think its a good set up.

Dont know the price but I am guessing £25K plus? I think you would still need an on site operator, simply to keep it loaded with poles. But at least you could do other things at your yard nearby e.g. maintenance, whilst it is chopping and splitting. Why would a machine like that use a chainsaw/harvester bar rather than a circular blade? Timings? Jams?

Watched the video on their website for the Fuelwood Factory. Quite impressive. Wondered if anyone had used one? FuelFactory by Fuelwood Is this the future of firewood production? Could you reall leave it unmanned until it ran out of poles? I dont sell much firewood (chainsaw and axe!) but I am interested in machinery in general. Any opinions on this set up would be interesting.

What is the plan with the planks? Do you sell them on?

Love the sound track! Nice pictures.

Just done Unit 2 of the traffic management course. Your choice of management is totally dependant on the layout of the road. You will need to inform the LA and it is probably wise to inform the Emergency Services if you plan to stop both ends of the traffic at any time to drop branches. You can download the pink and red books on traffic management free. Or I think they are about a tenner each hard copy. This would give you a clue as to what to do. I think you are supposed to have someone qualified to set up the layout of your cones/signs. The qualified person must be on site for the duration of the works. If you use mulitmap (birdseye) you can get an aerial picture of your site in order to sketch out which signs are required and where you are gonna put them.

Population is the driving force behind a lot of the worlds problems. Mostly intensive agriculture and global deforestation. Why has the UK governement given such massive benefits and tax reliefs for expanding, unemployed families who require large, unsustainable housing developments? Whats the answer? Tax relief for sustainable families.

I couldnt agree more. Your idea isnt actually as far fetched as some other adaptation ideas. For example, a huge mirror in space! And sprinkling reflective sulphur particles in the upper atmosphere. Believe me these are options which have been seriously discussed by the powers that be... If Mycelium is an effective carbon sink, it should be encouraged where practicable. Basically, a higher value needs to be placed on these sinkks (including the ocean/corals) in order to become economically protected from exploitation. Raising awareness on this wide ranging issue is the first step, which you have taken by entering into public discussion on the subject. Practical forestry and effective, sustainable arboriculture can help mitigate/adapt to climate change. Maybe in a small way, but every little helps. Doug Blease

Brilliant Matty. Well done mum, she made a christmas cracker!

Is this a cut and paste document? Basically on the principle that Carbon is a necessary part of our planets ecosystem, which of course it is. Unfortunately you are not taking into account the other harmful emmissions. The word Carbon is commonly used to describe the six most harmful emmissions. Carbon Dioxide being the least harmful but the most prominent. Methane for example is 23 times more harmful to the environment than Carbon Dioxide. Nitrous Oxide is 296 times more harmful than Carbon Dioxide Perflourocarbons are 5000 to 12000 times more harmful than Carbon Dioxide. There are many scientists on both sides of the arguement which give valid arguements. So it comes down to the question, does our ever increasing population's reliance on fossil fuels, producing these emmisions have NO effect at all? Highly unlikely, as we are seeing evidence of the climate changing in a pattern and rate which currently should not be seen. As far as the oceans are concerned. We have destroyed so much coral reef through intensive fishing practices that we have had to protect what is remaining by international law. Therefore this tiny amount cannot be expected to convert the same amount as it was before intensive fishing became the norm. Also, the oceans react incredibly slowly. Therefore what we and the planet produce in emmissions today, will not show an effect in the oceans perhaps for over 100 years.

The history behind natural climate change shows us that approxiately every 28'000 years the planet has moved on its axis, tilting the opposite hemisphere towards the sun. (not overnight obviously) This is natural climate change. Human exploitation of fossil fuels release emmissions at an unnatural rate. This causes an inbalance in whats known as radiative forcing, which is the rate at which longwave infra red energy leaves our amoshpere. This is causing a rise in temperature and the associated problems with that rise. This is un-natural climate change. Because we are approximately half way through our 28'000 year cycle, there is no movement on earths axis and no change in the shape of our orbit around the sun. The climatic issues some countries are facing is due to emmissions from 150 years of the developing nations industrial revolution and intense food production. Simples. I havent polled because those who think it is just a natural occurance have their heads well and truly in the sand. Dont just go by the media (= story or scare mongering) / governments (= targets, carbon trading, money, votes). You gotta do the reading from those who know.

Why? No need for it? Or need a bigger machine? Did you cry when it rolled down the road?

ummmmmm........ ......yeah.............suppose that would just about do the job! Your a lucky man Blair!

Excellent, every tree has a story!

I cant pedal a pto shaft fast enough. You never know though, maybe in the future a big ass Valmet will adorn my place!